Now, Sony is launching a pair of sales (that’s right—two at the same time). The first recognizes the second anniversary of the PlayStation Vita handheld console. The Vita had a staggered launch, beginning with some of Asia on December 17, 2011 and finishing with Australia on February 23, 2012. To celebrate the Vita's birthday, the PS Vita Anniversary Sale offers gamers some great-looking games at great-looking prices, including cross-buy ones such as Castlestorm, Proteus, Stick it to the Man, Escape Plan, and thatgamecompany’s games Flower and Flow. Notably, Killzone Mercenary is also on sale.

In addition to the PS Vita Anniversary Sale is the Back to 2013 sale, which opens the options beyond Sony’s handheld machine. The focus of this sale is stated in its graphic: “Great games you may have missed in 2013.” Some notable titles include Diablo III, the Ultimate Edition of Injustice: Gods Among Us (again), Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Persona 4 Arena, Tales of Xillia, and The Walking Dead: Season 2 (and its season pass). If the Vita sale wasn’t enough, this sale also includes some Vita-only listings (e.g. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time) and cross-buy ones (e.g. Super Motherload) that were not on the Vita sale’s list. The Back to 2013 sale begins tomorrow, February 25.

As usual, PlayStation Plus members receive an additional discount from the sale price. For example, the original price of WWE 2K14 is $59.99. The sale price is $39.99. PS Plus members, however, pay only $29.99. Discounted games (unlike free ones) do not disappear from the console should the user decide to leave PlayStation Plus, so for those who have not done so, now is a great time to sign up.

These sales are great reasons to buy PlayStation consoles, but they also speak to the idea of PlayStation becoming more of a platform than just a console. These sales are for multiple consoles under PlayStation’s name, and some games featured in the sales work across those consoles. The fact that Sony is now offering sales like these, along with the coming of PlayStation Now and its eventual functionality on mobile devices, opens doors for PlayStation that console makers have yet to walk through.

On a side note, and on behalf of PSU, happy birthday, PlayStation Vita! :D

Do you plan to buy some of these games, or are you waiting for a special gem to go on sale? We’d love to hear from you below!